Overview
- The Ranger Super Duty fire-response concept was shown at the AFAC conference in Melbourne this week as a functioning prototype built with Deakin University, XL Service Bodies and Zeliox Australia.
- Ford says the vehicle is designed as a rapid first-response platform to manage the critical first minutes at an incident and is not intended to replace conventional fire trucks.
- The prototype keeps the donor ute’s 4,500 kg gross vehicle mass and Super Cab layout so it can carry pumps, 800 liters of water and equipment without aftermarket suspension changes.
- Onboard systems include a Zeliox solar inverter and battery charging setup that runs a high-flow pump (about 1000 kPa at 500 L/min) and an ultra-high-pressure pump (about 3,000 psi at 18 L/min), with controls routed through the cabin touchscreen.
- Ford frames the build as a blueprint for bespoke fleet conversions that could be built and supported at its Broadmeadows site, and the concept follows a long-running Ford–Deakin research partnership that used CAD and virtual reality to accelerate development.